Cosmic Incense

This may have incense in the name and incense is definitely very prominent in the mix but this is like no other riff on incense I have ever smelled in a perfume - I'm thinking mainly of Bois d'Encens by Armani Prive but also Jovoy La Liturgie des Heures, which both trigger an instant flashback to the swinging thurible at a high mass. Cosmic Incense has a freshness from the fruit without smelling particularly sweet or fruity - I find that plum often comes across as plum jam in contemporary perfumes. This doesn't. In Cosmic Incense, the fruit just lets in a little fresh air. Yes, it smells of incense and in HooHaa's description prayer and rituals are mentioned, but it isn't very churchy. This is incense for the 21st century. You're just going to have to try it to get what I mean! The incense is present through the whole journey this perfume takes you on. It's mingled into the top notes and stays there through the heart and into the dry-down. The thing I find extraordinary is that I keep on smelling it on myself all through the day. Usually, I stop being aware of whatever I am wearing unless I deliberately smell my wrist - I think this is true for most of us. My nose or my brain doesn't ever relegate this fully to the background. I don't mean I feel I reek of it, just that I get delightful and unexpected wafts all day long. As to whether this leans more to the masculine or feminine, maybe it just edges very slightly more towards the feminine. However, I might change my mind if I smelled this on a man. I think this is more for a personality type than a gender. It's cerebral, of the mind and spirit. I don't think you would wear this to seduce; you'd wear it to intrigue. At present, HooHaa are saying that there will only ever be this one batch. I hope they change their minds. Get it while you can.

Incensy? Cosmic-y? I don't know. It reminds me of Alexandria Parfum Bleu Memoire (an homage fragrance to Bleu de Chanel, but the Alexandria has a very strong blue raspberry note in there, almost like someone tried to make a perfumery joke on "bleu" fragrances, but ended up making their perfume smell like Missoni Parfum Pour Homme, olibanum, and a jolly rancher got blitzed in a blender for a hot minute). But it doesn't have the obnoxious blue raspberry note of Bleu Memoire. Instead, it's sort of like Bleu de Chanel EdP, minus the grapefruit, and imagine if they had actually tried to take seriously the job of making that incense note become center stage. Also, Cosmic Incense also has this weird tutti-frutti note, or maybe it's cotton candy? There's some sort of fruity note in there that reminds me of a blend of fruits. Also, the musk is nice and soft, and not overdone. Very smooth, and not obnoxious. It's sort of done in a unisex way. Like, the Bleu de Chanel and incense aspects are very manly and noble and powerful (without being sharp or piercing). However, it's the soft musks and fruity mix that pull it back to being unisex. I feel like some sort of tart/acidic/tannin aspects could help bring it a bit of balance, but beyond that no idea. I think it's more of a playful scent, more casual. And for that purpose, it does its thing very well.

I hold onto this, but never reach for it! It's so unique in my collection, and I adore the top notes, but I find it too strong. I tend to somewhat wear perfume that matches me outdoors, and this one absolutely does not... if it was milder, I would love it as a personal scent for at home, but it's overwhelming to me. Very strong! Very long lasting, from what I remember of it. Very projecting. Fruity and spicy, very full of incense, and only slightly sweet (I only note sweet due to the fruit scents) I feel like I want to wear this on the rare occasion I wear black. edit - i was merely handling the sample bottle i have of this, and I can still smell it faintly. I'm not even near the bottle!! The bottle itself smells of it 🤣

I got this at Christmas as part of my HooHaa subscription, and as LizzieDee noted below, it's incensy but not churchy!! The incense intermittently peeks it's head throughout the day, weaving in and out from the initial spray to the end of the day. I definitely get the juicy, fruity raspberry/plum initial burst, but its fresh not sickly sweet, and it slowly melds into the spicy balsamic heart notes. I'm not a huge fan of patchouli, but I like it in Cosmic Incense and it lingers gently, along with the woody/spicy base notes. The longevity of this scent is great on my skin, and as it gets to the very end of the dry down, I get a weird (though not unpleasant) slight sweet pineapple/patchouli note - very similar to Fredric Malle's Music for a While - even though there is no pineapple in the notes here! I wouldn't recommend this as a blind buy, as it is a bold and unusual scent, but if you like Tom Ford Sahara Noir or Giorgio Armani Encens Satin, you might appreciate giving Cosmic Incense a try for a lighter incense vibe. I pre-ordered a bottle of this little niche gem earlier this year (£45 for 30ml, with 10% off if you are a subscriber) and at first I wasn't sure about ordering a full bottle, but when I realised I had been raising my arm to my nose all day (a good sign for me!) I knew I had to buy a bottle!

Very strong incense. Very slight fruity plum. The incense is so strong the fruit might as well not be there. Very spicy, peppery, and patchouli backbone, with cedarwood more than sandalwood. Cannot think of a single situation I’d want to smell like this, and although it is very good for what it is, it’s too spicy and lacks any sweetness or lightness (until we’ll after the first hour on me) for me to be able to pull this off. I have, and love, many masculine scents, and tons of unisex scents, but this maybe leans a little too masculine for me. Reminds me of TF Amber Absolute, that kind of vibe but with less Amber and more spice.